Bullock Creek swung the tide in a hurry, getting two driving baskets from Halee Nieman and a 3-pointer from freshman Rylie Kalina to turn a three-point deficit into a four-point lead in the first 1:10 of the final quarter. The Lancers never allowed LaPorte to shake loose and locked up a 51-45 victory for its second straight district title.

THIRD QUARTER

These are clearly two of the best teams in the state and they are battling. Glenn takes a 38-35 lead into the final quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

Jenai LaPorte catches fire for John Glenn, hitting four 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Bobcats take a 27-18 lead into the break. Glenn one half away from its first district title since 1991 but Bullock Creek is a championship team that can be expected to respond.

FIRST QUARTER

Sydney Thelen hits a 3-pointer in the final minute of a tight first quarter, giving John Glenn its first lead at 9-7. Some nervous energy showing early in this big game.

PREGAME

ESSEXVILLE, MI -- The Bangor John Glenn girls basketball has been building and building and building.

And tonight is the night the Bobcats have been building toward.

Two of the state's premier squads go toe-to-toe when Glenn takes on Midland Bullock Creek for the Class B girls basketball district championship at Essexville Garber. Tipoff is 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28.

Glenn has improved its record the past four seasons, emerging as one of Michigan's top up-and-coming programs. But the missing piece of the puzzle is the district title that would stamp the Bobcats as a success -- and that title has eluded them since 1991.

It won't come easy as Bullock Creek enters with a 20-1 record and a No. 3 state ranking.

Join MLive.com tonight as we position ourselves courtside for the big game. We're conducting a live chat to bring you updates and insight from the game as well as from other area games. Please join us with your own questions and comments, simply by confidentially registering with MLive then adding your input in the comments section below.

The more input, the more fun we have. So join us tonight to talk all things hoops.

We're live at the 7 p.m. tipoff, so until then, let's let Loverboy play us out...

"It's been a long time in the makin' We always knew that we could reach this place Sometimes it's hard to find a reason to run We'll still be standin' at the end of the race."